ST.PETERSBURG, April 18 -- Some 1,500 foreign terrorists, who took part in combat actions in the Middle East, are in Europe now, Director of Russia’s Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov told a conference on countering international terrorism on Thursday. "Some 1,500 out of 5,000 terrorists have arrived in the European Union from the Middle East, according to experts’ estimates. A significant number of them are gunmen, who have been sent by chieftains to Europe to continue terrorist attacks," Bortnikov told the conference organized by the Commonwealth of Independent States’ Interparliamentary Assembly. Despite major losses in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State and Al Qaeda terrorist groups, outlawed in Russia, and military groups affiliated with them still pose a serious threat, he said. "They managed to operate their forces based on a network principle. Interconnected and autonomous cells spread from the Middle East to Europe, Central and South East Asia, and major militant groups go deep into the African continent, in particular to Libya," Bortnikov noted. According to the FSB chief, the situation in Afghanistan is of special focus. Illegal terrorist groups there are joined by terrorists from Syria, creating a threat for the Central Asian region’s states.
0 Comments
TRIPOLI, April 17 -- At least two people were killed and eight more injured in shelling of Libya's capital Tripoli on Tuesday evening, Reuters reported citing Tripoli's emergencies services. AFP earlier reported that shelling could be heard late on Tuesday in parts of Tripoli, and several powerful explosions were heard across the city. Thick smoke was seen rising in several parts of the city. Currently, there are two governments in Libya: Tripoli’s Government of National Accord led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and recognized by the international community and the interim Cabinet of Abdullah Al-Thani who is acting in the country’s east together with the elected parliament and supported by the Libyan National Army of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. On April 4, Haftar announced the launch of an offensive on Tripoli. Meanwhile, Sarraj ordered all military units subordinate to him to brace for a defensive operation. On April 16, the World Health Organization said that at least 174 people were killed and another 756 injured in Tripoli. BANGKOK, April 16 -- Two jailed reporters for the Reuters news agency have won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for revealing the massacre of 10 Rohingya men by Buddhist villagers and Myanmar security forces. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who have been jailed for 490 days in Myanmar for their role in uncovering the killings, won the prestigious award for international reporting on Monday. They were arrested in December 2017 and are serving a seven-year sentence for violating the country's colonial Official Secrets Act. "I'm thrilled that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and their colleagues have been recognised for their extraordinary, courageous coverage," Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen J Adler said. "I remain deeply distressed, however, that our brave reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are still behind bars." Thomson Reuters CEO Jim Smith said the news service "won't be truly celebrating until Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are free". The honourees, both Myanmar citizens, found a mass grave filled with bones sticking out of the ground. They went on to gather testimony from perpetrators, witnesses and families of victims. Journalists Maggie Michael, Maad al-Zikry and Nariman El-Mofty of the Associated Press agency also won the same award for their coverage of famine and torture during Yemen's civil war. The Reuters staff bagged a second prize for photographs of Central American migrants seeking refuge in the United States. In other categories, coverage of mass shootings in the US and investigations into US President Donald Trump featured prominently. The Washington Post was a finalist for the public service medal for its coverage of the murder of Saudi journalist and Post columnist Jamal Khassoggi inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. LONDON, April 16 -- Shamima Begum was a member of the Isis morality police, a feared group which enforced the terror organisation’s strict interpretation of Islamic law – and she also tried to recruit other young women to join the jihadist group. The 19-year-old British citizen, who fled her home in Bethnal Green four years ago with two other schoolgirls, has claimed that she was only a “housewife” during her time living with the group in Syria. But according to a report in The Sunday Telegraph she played a much more active role in the organisation’s reign of terror as a member of the “hisba” – which metes out punishment to those found flouting Isis laws on how to dress and behave. One activist quoted by the newspaper said Begum had been seen holding an automatic weapon and shouting at Syrian women in the city of Raqqa for wearing brightly coloured shoes. “Members of our group from Raqqa knew her well”, said Aghiad al-Kheder, an activist from Deir ez-Zor who founded an anti-Isis collective that published information about Isis crimes from sources on the ground. “There were lots of young European women in the hisba. Some of them were very harsh and the local population became very scared.” There were separate allegations that Begum stitched suicide bombs onto explosive vests, so they could not be removed without detonating. The Mail on Sunday reported that the prime minister and home secretary had been briefed on intelligence received by the CIA and Dutch military intelligence. SINGAPORE, April 14 -- From celebrities to ministers, condemnation from the West has been heaped on Brunei for enacting harsh anti-gay laws that prescribe death by stoning for various offences – but the tiny oil-rich nation has showed little concern it may be making foes of its traditional friends. Neither is it likely to fully alienate the West, observers say, despite remaining resolute on the implementation of sharia law in the face of backlash from world leaders. Ruler Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world’s richest men, has a track record of balancing dialogue with the West – the United Kingdom and the United States are major export partners – while courting increased engagement with China, the country’s main import trading partner. “Brunei has been practising hedge diplomacy in its foreign policy,” says Mustafa Izzuddin, a fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. “However, the greater the criticism from Western countries – including resorting to boycotts – the more likely Brunei will turn to Asia and in particular, China, which has cleverly stayed clear of Brunei’s domestic affairs.” Beijing has developed a keen interest in Brunei, partly due to the possibility of joint development deals in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which could provide a key toehold into contested South China Sea waters. Brunei is among the claimants to the disputed sea, but its unassertive approach has made it appealing to China, says Mustafa. While Beijing has yet to propose any concrete plans, similar attempts to forge deals with other South China Sea claimants suggest it would “not be surprising to see China offer joint development prospects to Brunei”, says Joseph Liow of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies. But if joint agreements are signed, it could prove problematic for other Southeast Asian claimants and the wider international community as it would undercut the 2016 international ruling that says China has no claims to the waters delineated by its controversial nine-dash line, says Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. If China manages to strike a development deal with Brunei, it would indicate Brunei’s EEZ waters were legally “disputed”, strengthening Beijing’s claim and weakening near-universal consensus of the ruling, says Poling. However, there is still “no evidence Brunei is willing to take that gamble”, he says. Nevertheless, ties between both countries are growing, as Brunei looks to diversify its income streams in a country traditionally reliant on oil reserves – estimated to run out within two to three decades. Brain drain is a growing issue, as is unemployment, which stood at 9.3 per cent according to latest figures. The nation, an enthusiastic supporter of the Belt and Road Initiative , has unveiled a development plan to build a dynamic and sustainable economy by 2035. BERLIN, April 12 -- Germans are significantly more likely to be victims of a crime committed by an immigrant than vice versa. About every tenth victim to whom a suspect was identified has been assigned to the perpetrator category “immigrant”. “In the area of murder, manslaughter, killing on request, 230 Germans fell victim to a criminal offense,” it says in the situation report. Deutsche are significantly more likely victims of a crime that was committed by an immigrant, than vice versa. This emerges from the simultaneously published with the police crime statistics (PKS) situation picture “crime in the context of immigration” of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). The case presented by the Federal Criminal Police Office show a gloomy picture: “In the area of murder, manslaughter, killing on request, 230 Germans fell victim to a criminal offense in which at least one suspected immigrant was involved,” it says in the situation report. This was an increase of 105 percent compared to 2017 (112). “Of these, 102 people were victims of a finished act,” it says. In total, among the 101,956 victims of crime involving suspected immigrants, 46,336 were Germans; that was 19 percent more than in 2017. It is also noteworthy that last year only 18% of cases in which asylum seekers and refugees were registered as victims of a crime in 2018 – four-fifths are assaulted – one German was identified as suspect (8455 out of 47,042 cases) , In 2017 it was 15 percent. This could indicate that those political and public representatives who perceive refugees as being threatened by xenophobes have a narrowed view. With all the weaknesses of the PKS, it becomes clear on the basis of these figures that people seeking protection are mainly attacked by other foreigners.” KHARTOUM, April 11 -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is set to step down, Al Arabiya sources confirmed adding that some current and former officials have been arrested. Al Arabiya sources also said the Khartoum airport has been closed down. Al Arabiya sources also stated that counter-coup attempt in Sudan had failed. A gathering of Sudanese professionals said they will accept only the handover of power to a civilian transitional government. According to sources, the Sudanese army announced the formation of an interim council headed by the first vice president Awad Ibn Auf. However other sources did not confirm the report, saying that consultaions over the council's members, are still ongoing. Sudanese military vehicles were deployed on key roads, bridges in Khartoum and people were chanting “it has fallen, we won”, Reuters reported. It was earlier reported that the Sudanese army will make an “important statement soon,” state television and radio announced Thursday, as thousands of protesters camped outside the military headquarters in Khartoum demanding the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir. State media offered no further details, as the rally outside the army complex entered its sixth day. Several military vehicles carrying troops entered the army compound in the early hours of Thursday, witnesses told AFP. The compound also houses Bashir’s official residence and the defense ministry. CAIRO, March 29 -- Alaa Abdel Fattah, a leading pro-democracy activist in Egypt, has been released from prison after serving a five-year sentence for inciting and taking part in protests, according to his family and lawyer. The influential blogger and software engineer was a leading voice amongst the young Egyptians who initially led the 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. "Alaa got out," his sister, Mona Seif, wrote on Facebook and Twitter on Friday. His other sister, Sanaa Seif, posted a video on Facebook of Abdel Fattah playing with a dog. His lawyer, Khaled Ali, confirmed the release by posting on Facebook: "Thanks God, Alaa Abdel-Fattah at home." Facebook pages set up in support of Abdel Fattah posted videos of him grinning, hugging and shaking hands with friends as he walked out of a police station in Cairo. In the background, women were ululating. His release from the notorious Tora prison will not bring him complete freedom. As part of his parole, Abdel Fattah must sleep every night at a local police station for the next five years and will be under police surveillance. DAMASCUS, March 23 -- U.S.-backed forces said they had captured Islamic State's last shred of territory in eastern Syria at Baghouz on Saturday, ending the group's self-proclaimed caliphate after years of fighting. "Baghouz has been liberated. The military victory against Daesh has been accomplished," Mustafa Bali, a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman, wrote on Twitter, declaring the "total elimination of (the) so-called caliphate". However, a Reuters journalist at Baghouz said there were still some sounds of shooting and mortar fire. The final battle lasted weeks as huge numbers of civilians poured out, and for many Kurdish fighters in the SDF, victory was sweeter as it coincided with their "Now Ruz" new year. Though the defeat of Islamic State in Baghouz ends the group's grip over the jihadist quasi-state straddling Syria and Iraq that it declared in 2014, it remains a threat. Some of its fighters still hold out in Syria's remote central desert and in Iraqi cities they have slipped into the shadows, staging sudden shootings or kidnappings and awaiting a chance to rise again. The United States believes the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is in Iraq. He stood at the pulpit of the great medieval mosque in Mosul in 2014 to declare himself caliph, sovereign over all Muslims. Further afield, jihadists in Afghanistan, Nigeria and elsewhere have shown no sign of recanting their allegiance to Islamic State, and intelligence services say its devotees in the West might plot new attacks. Still, the fall of Baghouz is a big milestone in a fight against the jihadist group waged by numerous local and global forces - some of them sworn enemies - over more than four years. It also marks a big moment in Syria's eight-year war, wiping out the territory of one of the main contestants, with the rest split between President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey-backed rebels and the Kurdish-led SDF. Assad and his Iranian allies have sworn to recapture all Syria, and Turkey has threatened to drive out the SDF, which it sees as a terrorist group, by force. The continued presence of U.S. troops in northeast Syria might avert this. Islamic State originated as an al Qaeda faction in Iraq, but it took advantage of Syria's civil war to seize land there and split from the global jihadist organisation. In 2014, it suddenly grabbed Iraq's Mosul, one of the region's great historic cities, as well as Syria's Raqqa, and swathes of land each side of the border. It declared an end to modern countries and called on supporters to leave their homes and join the jihadist utopia it claimed to be erecting, trumpeting its currency, flag, passports and military parades. Oil production, extortion and stolen antiquities financed its agenda, which included slaughtering some minorities, public slave auctions of captured women, grotesque punishments for minor crimes and the choreographed killing of hostages. Those excesses brought an array of forces against it, forcing it from Mosul and Raqqa in a year of heavy defeats in 2017 and driving it, eventually, down the Euphrates to Baghouz. Over the past two months some 60,000 people poured out of that dwindling enclave, fleeing SDF bombardment and a shortage of food so severe that some said they were reduced to cooking grass. Intense air strikes throughout the campaign have levelled entire districts and rights groups have said they killed many civilians, allegations the coalition has often disputed. A mass grave the SDF discovered last month showed there were other dangers in the enclave, though it has released no details on the identities of the victims or how they died. Civilians made up more than half the people leaving Baghouz, the SDF said, including Islamic State victims such as women from the Iraqi Yazidi sect whom the jihadists had sexually enslaved. Thousands of the group's unbending supporters also abandoned the enclave while still vowing their allegiance to a ruined caliphate and showing no remorse for its victims. At displacement camps in northeast Syria where they were sent by the SDF, the hardliners, including many foreign women who came to Syria and Iraq to marry jihadists, had to be kept away from other, often traumatized, residents. Their fate has befuddled foreign governments, who see them as a security threat and are loath to accede to SDF entreaties to take them back home. As the fighting progressed, the convoys of trucks from Baghouz started to include hundreds, and then thousands, of surrendering jihadist fighters, many hobbling from their wounds. The SDF said it captured hundreds more in recent weeks who tried to slip through its cordon and escape into Iraq or across the Euphrates and into the Syrian desert. At the end, they were besieged in a tiny camp full of rusting vehicles and makeshift shelters, pinned against the Euphrates and overlooked by hills held by the SDF. Islamic State released video from inside that squalid, shell-pounded enclave, showing its last fighters still shooting at the SDF as smoke billowed overhead. It was an attempt to shape the narrative of its defeat, portraying it as a heroic last stand against overwhelming odds and a call to arms for future jihadists. But in Baghouz in recent weeks long lines of abject, surrendering fighters sat or squatted in a desolate landscape, their dream of world domination in tatters. WASHINGTON, March 22 -- US President Donald Trump’s statement Washington should recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights may destabilize the situation in the Middle East. "Such calls may considerably destabilize the already strained situation in the Middle East," he said. "In any case the idea as such by no means works for the tasks and goals of the Middle East settlement. It’s the other way round." "At the moment it’s just a call. May it remain so". Earlier, Trump tweeted that the US should recognize Israel’s full sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This plateau, which belonged to Syria since 1944 were seized by Israel during the six-day war in 1967. In 1981, the Israeli parliament passed a law to unilaterally declare sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The UN Security Council declared the annexation null and void in its Resolution 497 of December 17, 1981. TORONTO, March 20 -- Leftist elites in Canada have launched a campaign to normalize Sharia law – the illiberal and often barbaric set of laws enforced in Islamic dictatorships. In Ottawa, the Trudeau government is in the middle of what feels like a show-trial designed to make “Islamophobia” illegal – a term the government itself has failed to define. After the controversial M-103 was passed in Parliament, leftist media and the Trudeau government insisted that the critics were wrong, that it’s just a motion – symbolic! – and that M-103 will have no legislative impact. When the Heritage Committee began its hearings last week, however, critics who expressed concern over the motion were proven right. One of the first experts to testify implied police should prosecute Canadians over social media posts that police deem offensive or incorrect. Yes, prosecute. Orwell would be rolling in his grave More than just Orwellian, these official suggestions are reminiscent of theocratic tyranny. That’s not Canadian law. That’s Sharia law. In the background of this charade, the mainstream media joined in and is doing its part to support Trudeau’s agenda. The CBC ran a news story defending Sharia law, with a headline saying that Sharia is “not to be feared.” The article quoted a Liberal MP and several spiritual leaders who defended M-103, without providing balance or skepticism over the motion or towards Sharia. The article explained how Sharia is already in Canada, that it only governs religious practices and only applies to people inside the Muslim community. It included a quote from an advocate saying that those who oppose M-103 and fear Sharia are motivated by “bigotry, plain and simple.” Pretending Sharia is already here and no big deal is incorrect; vilifying those who oppose it is both dishonest and dangerous. Back in 2003, the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice proposed that Muslims have their own tribunals and a parallel legal system – Sharia law – in Ontario. It was then Muslim activists who took a stand and launched campaigns against these proposed Sharia courts. Iranian-born Homa Arjomand argued that Sharia tribunals would undermine women’s rights and “push back Canadian law by 1,400 years.” “Keep Sharia Law out of Canadian judicial system,” Sun columnist Tarek Fatah wrote at the time, arguing that religious tribunals trespass upon the public domain. Activist Nasrin Ramzanali said that if these Sharia courts materialized, “I (would) feel threatened here.” Ultimately the Liberal government in Ontario rejected the bid to allow Sharia courts. We shouldn’t pretend that Sharia already governs in Canada; we should fight against it at every opportunity. That’s because Sharia is not just a set of religious rules, it is a totalitarian ideology that enforces a sexist and outdated worldview. Sharia insists that there is no separation between mosque and state, and that Islamic rules dictate both the private and public lives of the people. Sharia law replaces Canadian law, it doesn’t live alongside it – but that’s not where the trouble with Sharia ends. Even if Sharia only applied to Muslims in Canada, how would we feel about a set of laws that permits a man to beat his wife? How about a legal system that allows a man to divorce his wife simply by saying the word “divorce” three times aloud? Sharia is not consistent with our way of life in Canada – despite what Liberals and the CBC want us to believe. UTRECHT, March 19 -- Dutch authorities said on Tuesday they were seriously considering a terrorist motive behind Monday's deadly shooting on a tram in the city of Utrecht. Three people were killed and five wounded in the attack, and a 37-year-old Turkish-born man identified as Gokmen Tanis was arrested after a seven-hour manhunt. Police said two other suspects were also in custody but their role was unclear. "Up to this point, a terrorist motive is seriously being considered," prosecutors said in a statement, citing "the nature of the shooting and a letter found in the getaway car." But it remained unclear whether Tanis, who has a history of run-ins with law enforcement, was acting on political beliefs or a personal vendetta. "Other motives are not being ruled out," the statement said. He was convicted for illegal weapons possession in 2014 and for shoplifting and burglary earlier this month. He was released from custody on March 1, after having been detained on suspicion of rape, the Utrecht District Court said in a statement released after his arrest on Monday. Under Dutch law Tanis must be brought before a judge by Thursday but he does not yet have to be charged. The three Dutch victims were identified as a 19-year-old woman and two men aged 28 and 49. Three others, ranging from 20 to 74 years old, were critically injured in the shooting. Prosecutors said they had so far not been able to establish a connection between the victims and the suspected gunman. Flags flew at half mast on government buildings across the Netherlands on Tuesday and a minute of silence was observed in the Dutch parliament in tribute to the victims. LAGOS, March 17 -- Church leaders in Nigeria have said that Christians are experiencing "pure genocide" as 6,000 people, mostly women and children, have been murdered by Fulani radicals since January. "What is happening in Plateau state and other select states in Nigeria is pure genocide and must be stopped immediately," said the Christian Association of Nigeria and church denominational heads in Plateau State in a press release last week. The church leaders said that "over 6,000 persons, mostly children, women and the aged have been maimed and killed in night raids by armed Fulani herdsmen," which is prompting their cry to the government of Nigeria "to stop this senseless and blood shedding in the land and avoid a state of complete anarchy where the people are forced to defend themselves." The press release also pleaded with the international community, as well as the United Nations, to intervene in the Fulani attacks, fearing they might spread to other countries as well. "We are particularly worried at the widespread insecurity in the country where wanton attacks and killings by armed Fulani herdsmen, bandits and terrorists have been taking place on a daily basis in our communities unchallenged despite huge investments in the security agencies," they added, saying President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to bring attackers to justice. They referenced several mass-scale attacks this year, including the slaughter of over 200 people, mostly Christians, at the end of June in raids carried out by the herdsmen on local area farmers near the city of Jos. Although some international news media has sought to characterize the killings as a land conflict between community groups, the church leaders, along with major persecution watchdog groups such as Open Doors USA and International Christian Concern, have all said that Christians are being deliberately targeted. "We reject the narrative that the attacks on Christian communities across the country as 'farmers/herdsmen clash.' The federal government has been so immersed in this false propaganda and deceit while forcefully pushing the policy idea of establishing cattle ranches/colonies on the ancestral farming lands of the attacked communities for the Fulani herdsmen as the only solution to the problem," the press release declared, accusing the government of also pushing such a narrative. "How can it be a clash when one group is persistently attacking, killing, maiming, destroying; and the other group is persistently being killed, maimed and their places of worship destroyed? How can it be a clash when the herdsmen are hunting farmers in their own villages/communities and farmers are running for their lives?" the church leaders asked. "How can it be a clash when the herdsmen are the predators and the inhabitant/indigenous farmers are the prey? Until we call a disease by its real name and causatives, it would be difficult to properly diagnose the disease for the right curative medications." There have been different reports on the number of Christians killed in Nigeria since the start of the year. The International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety, stated on Tuesday that a combined total of 1,750 Christians, along with non-Muslims, have been killed both by the Fulani herdsmen, and by Boko Haram radicals, who are a separate terror group. Intersociety also warned of a genocide in its statement. "Nigeria is drifting to [a path of] genocide through killing, maiming, burning and destruction of churches and other sacred places of worship, and forceful seizure and occupation of ancestral, worship, farming and dwelling lands of the indigenous Christians and other indigenous religionists in Northern Nigeria," it said. Roman Catholic Bishop William Avenya of Gboko separately told charity Aid to the Church in Need that the world cannot wait for a full-on genocide before deciding to intervene. "Please don't make the same mistake as was made with the genocide in Rwanda," he pleaded, referring to the massacre of Tutsi people in Rwanda, where close to 1 million were killed in 1994. "It happened beneath our noses, but no one stopped it. And we know well how that ended," Avenya said. BANGKOK, March 15 -- Countries are grappling with what to do with women who left to join ISIS. Now, as the organization is driven from its last strongholds in Syria, many of these women have sought to return to their home countries. Shamima Begum, of Britain, was stripped of her citizenship on security grounds last month, leaving her in a detention camp in Syria. Her three-week-old baby died on March 9, the third of the 19-year-old's infant children to die since she traveled to Syria in 2015. Found in a refugee camp in February, an unrepentant Begum sparked a debate in Britain and other European capitals as to whether a teenager with a jihadist fighter's child should be left in a war zone to fend for herself. Iranian-American journalist and writer Azadeh Moaveni works as a gender analyst for the International Crisis Center. She's an expert on gender and Islamic insurgencies and she spoke with Marco Werman about the role women have played in ISIS as many try to re-enter the countries they left when they went to join the militant group. Marco Werman: Writer Azadeh Moaveni has been considering the case of Shamima Begum. Let me just start with your concerns over how to refer to these young women who joined ISIS. What is the problem with calling them jihadi brides or ISIS brides? Azadeh Moaveni: Well I think "bride" suggests that their only relationship to this insurgent movement or this militant group was a civilian spouse, whereas many young women joined before they were even married. They joined up as members. They were voluntary recruits because they believed in the ideology and the politics of the organization. So, I think "brides" strips away that agency and that motivation. It doesn't really help us understand the way that recruitment worked. "I think 'brides' strips away that agency and that motivation." Is there a better terminology that you can think of? To me, "member" is more clear. It suggests some agency and voluntary affiliation. It doesn't immediately read as operational involvement because in a great many cases, women were not operationally involved or they didn't participate in direct violence, but it reflects that they were part of the organization. They lent their support to it in ways that made it stronger and that helped to recruit. And why is it important what we call these women? I mean, some people might say they joined a terrorist organization. In the case of Shamima Begum, she's got no remorse about joining. Why should we pay attention to the words we use to describe them?Well, I think in lots of conflicts around the world, whether it's Boko Haram in Nigeria, ISIS in Syria, or Al-Shabab in Somalia, we are increasingly seeing or are ready to see, prepared to see, and understand how actively women are involved. I think it's really hard to read the deep social base, how the contexts of state collapse affect men and women and bring women to the centers of these insurgencies. So I don't really think we get these conflicts unless we can also map the involvement of women onto them. So there are the semantics and then perhaps more troubling issues like how should a young woman like Shamima Begum be judged? Certainly, there is a problem of intelligence and there's really no good solutions when it comes to prosecuting women or men who are coming out of these kinds of conflict zones because some of the evidence against them is inadmissible. There are retroactive ways or new laws that have been instituted, for example, that could lead to higher sentences simply for joining a prescribed organization or for going to a zone where there was this kind of violence going on. I think something that is being turned to in the UK is the stripping of citizenship, which essentially — and this has happened in the case of Shamima — renders her stateless and then foists the problem of all of these jihadists or women militants onto the very vulnerable fragile states like Iraq or Syria itself, which can't be the best solution. So, I think a case-by-case basis, maybe tribunals. I think there certainly are legal systems — like the American legal system, the British, or the European states — that have more robust ways to be able to prosecute. If we leave these women stranded in places like this, they may actually never be punished or see the consequences for what they've done. As you said earlier, "jihadi brides" or "ISIS brides" takes away the agency of these women and what they were doing. What do we know about what these women — like Shamima Begam — were actually doing once they were inside the caliphate? For a lot of women, if they were skilled, educated, or trained in something, they took those skills to Syria. I spent a lot of time in Tunisia where hundreds of women went and there were doctors, language teachers, midwives and graphic designers. They would take their skills and work there because they thought they were building a new society. Less educated and unskilled women either stayed at home or they were involved in these morality police brigades that would essentially terrify and beat into submission the local population by beatings, lashings, fines for little infringements in dress codes. Of course, I think women were active as recruiters as well and were running the infrastructure of women kind of coming in and out of the caliphate. I would say a huge a spectrum of roles; operationally in relation to the group and also the civilian roles of a building society that they believe themselves to be building from scratch. "They would take their skills and work there because they thought they were building a new society." As for Shamima Begum, she's been stripped of her British citizenship, but how do you reconcile Begum's desire to return to the UK and her lack of remorse for what she's done? To me, her lack of remorse is not really surprising. She's highly indoctrinated. This is really the only adult life she has known. But I think she does retain a British socialization, which has taught her that there is a country that has institutions like courts that will follow the rule of law and a healthcare system that will take care of you even if you are jobless. These are great strengths of British society and I think it's quite poignant that she's internalized the fact that a state can provide this in a kind of altruistic way even though she abandoned it. To me, I feel like there's a glimmer of hope that she could be rehabilitated. A glimmer of hope at home, but how worried are you about what someone like Shamima Begum now becomes? I think it's very worrisome, certainly, and I think that this is something that countries across the world are going to have to grapple with: How to rehabilitate these women and how to ensure that they do not continue to spread these kinds of ideas and keep them incubated in a way? Credit: Reuters CHRISTCHURCH, March 15 -- Gunmen entered two mosques and began shooting in New Zealand's city of Christchurch on Friday killing at least 40 people - an unprecedented attack in the quiet country in the Pacific. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference that 20 others were in serious condition after the "terrorist" attack. Police Commissioner Mike Bush said four suspects were in custody - three men and a woman. Sam Clarke, a reporter with TVNZ, spoke with several people inside the Masjid Al Noor mosque when the shooting began. He told Al Jazeera a man entered with an automatic weapon and began firing. "A gunman - dressed in black with a helmet carrying a machine gun - came into the back of the mosque and started firing into the people praying there," said Clarke. Police confirmed a second shooting occurred at the Linwood mosque during Friday prayers in the South Island city, but no details were immediately available. Ardern said: "This is, and will be, one of New Zealand's darkest days." Authorities have not described the scale of Friday's shootings but urged people in central Christchurch to stay indoors. New Zealand media reported between nine and 27 people were killed, but the death toll could not be confirmed. Police warned worshippers not to visit mosques "anywhere in New Zealand". A lockdown imposed throughout Christchurch was called off at about 05:00 GMT. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said one of the suspects was an Australian national, calling him an "extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist". Dressed in black Witness Len Peneha said he saw a man dressed in black enter the Masjid Al Noor mosque and then heard dozens of shots, followed by people running from the mosque in terror. He said he also saw the gunman flee before emergency services arrived. Peneha - who lives next to the mosque - said he went into the building to try and help. "I saw dead people everywhere." One man in the mosque, with blood stains all over his clothes, said he hid under a bench as the shooting took place. He said about 50 people were inside the building. Clarke said some worshippers managed to escape through windows and doors but "many people had been hit, some as young as 16". About 10 to 15 people were seen outside the mosque, "some alive, some dead", he said. "It was unbelievable. I saw about 20 people, some dead, some screaming," one eyewitness told local television. "I saw on the floor so many bullet shells, hundreds. I saw one guy trying to run out and he was shot dead." One of the gunmen shared a livestream of the attack on Facebook and posted content on Instagram. Facebook said it has taken down the video and was removing praise for the gunman. "Police are aware there is extremely distressing footage relating to the incident in Christchurch circulating online," a police statement said. "We would strongly urge that the link not be shared. We are working to have any footage removed." There were reports racist literature was left behind at the scene denouncing "invaders". Commissioner Bush said local police officers apprehended the four suspects. "There's been some absolute acts of bravery," he said without elaborating. "I won't assume there aren't others but I don't have any information to that effect," Bush told a press conference. He said a number of bombs were detected and neutralised on the attackers' automobiles. "There were a few reports of IEDs strapped to vehicles which we were able to secure," he said, referring to improved explosive devices. Asked by reporters whether police considered Friday's carnage a "terrorist attack", Bush said an investigation was under way. |
Thank you for choosing to make a difference through your donation. We appreciate your support.
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesCategories
All
Archives
April 2024
|